Thursday, 4 April 2013

Being a mother: five lessons learnt

Being a mother, lesson one:
don't think you'll have time to do anything during maternity leave. To blog, for example. By the time you finally figure out how your baby works and what his schedule looks like, you'll have to go back to work. Or he changes it all up again. But hey, you'll be OK. You'll learn to take a shower during the 30 minutes he sleeps, and to finally shave your legs next to the relax, hoping you're not traumatizing him for life. But then he gave you his cutest smile, so you forgive him for keeping you from combing your hair properly (saves a lot of money on volume shampoo though).

Being a mother, lesson two:
hormones are still alive and kicking. Movies with parents who die, or little children who are left alone, or any documentary about any subject related to human or animal suffering or happiness make you cry. Songs too, for that matter. And you still forget a lot of stuff. Like the name of colleagues you've worked with barely three months ago. Not to talk about those of your students. I'm going back to work in about one week, and I think I'll have to study. Hard.

Being a mother, lesson three:
you won't have much sleep. Even if you nap when your baby does, you're still paying attention to every little sound he makes, or looking at him, completely in love, knowing very well you should close your eyes and seize the occasion. But you'll learn, you'll learn.

Being a mother, lesson four:
cooking requires a lot of preparation. Divide and conquer. Usually my meals are prepared in five steps. Peeling potatoes, cutting up veggies, and stuff like that are done at any possible moment when the little one is either asleep or happy in his relax or on someone else's lap.

Being a mother, lesson five:
phones always ring at the most inconvenient moments and secretly you're glad that most of your colleagues and friends don't come over to visit as they said they would. You become a little bit selfish when it comes to your baby, and you're not even ashamed about it.

Never let those parents who sigh about how hard it is mislead you though : it still rocks!!